1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power stapler having an automatic reloading apparatus and more specifically to a reloading apparatus having a plurality of rails for retaining a supply of staples with the staples on each rail being sequentially loaded into the stapler.
2. Prior Art
Staplers used in production applications are preferably high speed devices that use a large quantity of staples in a short time. Staples generally are supplied to a stapler in strips wherein a plurality of staples are aligned and held together by a binder. Staplers using strips of staples are dependable and resist jamming because the staples support one another in the proper orientation until the stapler drives each staple into engagement with the workpiece.
One disadvantage of staplers using staples in the strip form is that workers are required to manually replace the strips of staples as they are used by the stapler. Generally an operator will reload the stapler when he finds that the supply of staples is depleted. The operator then partially disassembles the stapler removing the follower block and then inserts a new strip of staples into the stapler magazine before replacing the follower block. The reloading operation interrupts production and reduces the productivity of the production operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,672 to Julifs discloses one such production stapler having an improved magazine which is loaded from the rear end. The stapler may be loaded without removing any parts from the magazine to load a new strip of staples into the stapler. The stapler does not require the feeder to be cocked before the staples are inserted and the magazine may be loaded and cocked in a single motion. While the Julifs device reduces the amount of time and effort required to reload a stapler, the operator must still feed strips of staples into the stapler individually which requires the operator to stop his production, locate the strip of staples and insert it into the stapler magazine.
These and other problems encountered by prior art devices have been overcome by the reloading apparatus of the present invention.